December 2025 Foundation eNews

There’s still plenty of time to get that perfect gift

Looking for meaningful ways to brighten the season for someone living with ALS? Our updated Holiday Gift Guide offers thoughtful, practical ideas curated by our Support Services Team. From adaptive tools that make daily tasks easier, to comfort-focused items, wellness supports, and meaningful keepsakes, the guide highlights gifts that can bring joy, ease, and connection during the holidays.

Whether you’re shopping for a loved one, a care partner, or simply want to show support to someone navigating ALS, these recommendations are designed with accessibility, comfort, and dignity in mind. This year’s guide also includes experience-based gifts and suggestions for staying engaged with community—especially helpful during the winter months.

Explore the full Gift Guide on our website.

The financial impact of ALS touches nearly every family living with the disease—but research on this burden is still emerging. In our next ALS Learning Series webinar, Astrid Grouls, MD, will explore how financial burden is studied in ALS, how it compares with the more established field of financial toxicity research in oncology, and where critical gaps in knowledge remain.

Dr. Grouls—an inpatient palliative care physician and clinical researcher at Baylor College of Medicine—focuses her work on improving quality of life for people living with ALS, including advance care planning, fatigue, and financial strain.

This no-cost webinar is offered by the Les Turner ALS Foundation with support from the Gilbert & Jacqueline Fern Foundation and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America.

Register today and join the conversation.

Guide Spotlight: ALS & Children/Youth

When a loved one is diagnosed with ALS, children and youth feel the impact deeply—even when they don’t have the words to express it. Our Conversations with Children and Youth About ALS guide helps families navigate these difficult moments with honesty, clarity, and compassion. It offers practical suggestions on how to start age-appropriate conversations, answer tough questions, acknowledge emotions, and keep the lines of communication open as the disease progresses.

Developed in partnership with Dr. Melinda S. Kavanaugh and Global Neuro YCare, the guide also highlights resources for young caregivers, including the YCare training program and additional materials tailored to different age groups.

This guide supports parents, caregivers, and professionals in helping young people feel informed, included, and supported.

Read the full guide here, available in both English and Spanish.

In Our Thoughts

We offer our sincere condolences to all those who have lost a loved one to ALS. Today, and every day, we honor and remember them.

Andrea Krzysko

We invite you to share a tribute—whether a story, memory, or photo— to our Celebration of Life memorial wall, keeping the legacy of your loved one alive and reminding others they are never forgotten.

Support ALS Care and Research

The Les Turner ALS Foundation exists to care for those affected by the disease, answer their questions, support them and their loved ones, and provide hope through scientific research at the Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine.

Please make a gift so we can continue to deliver that care and support. Together, we will create a world free of ALS.